November 10, 2016

Anthropofagia — cultural cannibalism — is a concept based on an essay published by the poet and father of Brazilian modernism, Oswald de Andrade. A passage from that "Manifesto Antropofagico" reads:

"Only cannibalism unites us. Socially. Economically. Philosophically. The unique law of the world. The masked expression of all individualism and collective movement."

Brazilian "percussionista" Cyro Baptista has applied this philosophy to create ingenious music for more than five decades.

"Everything that comes from outside," he says. "We eat and we digest and regurgitate and eat again and again and again. That's what happened in Brazil, and now that's what happened with all of us, no? Like we all eating each other. We have Facebook, the tweet — all of that is a food plate."

Baptista transcends borders and style. In the world of Brazilian percussion, few players have shared the stage with Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma, Trey Anastasio of Phish, and Sting. This Jazz Night In America concert showcases Baptista's experimental and funk undertones as he performs traditional Brazilian grooves like forro and samba. We'll also visit Home Depot and take a trip into the woods to see how he creates a new percussion instrument for his arsenal.

November 3, 2016

Billy Strayhorn (right), spent the majority of his career as a composer and arranger for Duke Ellington (left) and his orchestra. (Image Credit: David Redfern/Getty Images)

The fruitful collaboration between Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington is widely known to have brought us such classics as "Take The 'A' Train," "Chelsea Bridge" and "Isfahan." But behind the music, Strayhorn's life and identity were complex.

While composing some of the most harmonically rich jazz of its time — often in Ellington's shadow — Strayhorn was an outlier in that he led an openly gay life as a black man in the 1940s, an era rife with homophobia and racism.

In this episode of Jazz Night In America, hear interviews with Strayhorn's family members and biographer, along with rare archival tape of Strayhorn himself. You'll also hear Strayhorn's music performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, including pianist Johnny O'Neal's rendition of "Lush Life."

October 27, 2016

There may be no better place than New Orleans to explore the ties of family and tradition in jazz. This episode of Jazz Night in America visits the Crescent City to hear two local musical giants: singer John Boutté and drummer Shannon Powell. The video documentary presents highlights from their shared concert at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz and Heritage Center, while the radio episode also spends time with each of them at their homes, tracing their familial roots and exploring why they've chosen to stay local.

Powell was born and raised in Treme, one of the U.S.'s oldest black neighborhoods. He took us down the street to his church, where he grew up with a tambourine in one hand and a Bible in the other. For Powell, the church has always been a place where music and the Holy Spirit are one and the same.

Boutté, too, says he's Treme to the bone; his large Creole-Catholic family goes back generations in New Orleans. He, like Powell, grew up playing music in the church. Though he went to college for business, he returned to his musical roots when he realized that the human voice was powerful enough to move people to tears of joy or pain.

Boutté and Powell capture the essence of this music and this city as only two natives can. Each man displays that particularly New Orleans sense of pride and swagger, rooted in the church and combined with a deep sense of family, musical and cultural history.

October 20, 2016

Herbie Hancock always seems to be on some kind of voyage. Whether he's improvising in a spaceship surrounded by 11 keyboards or forming new iterations of bands, you can always count on him to push the possibilities and the boundaries of jazz.

On this radio episode, Jazz Night in America host Christian McBride sits down with Hancock to discuss his technological journey over the years. We'll also hear stories from Herbie's longtime keyboard tech, Bryan Bell, and a testimonial from Paris Strother, keyboard player for the R&B trio KING.

October 13, 2016

Oliver Jones may be the most famous living jazz pianist you've never heard of. But in Canada, Jones is a hero — adored in his native Quebec and across the country for helping to build a vibrant jazz scene that can sustain the country's top musicians.

A serious talent and a tireless advocate for Canadian jazz, Jones is a champion for local musicians — a folk hero of sorts. You can find his images on the sides of buildings and on his very own postage stamp. He's also a serious talent with charisma and charm that's been winning over fans for years.

This week on Jazz Night In America, we'll introduce you to the 81-year-old ambassador for jazz — a former protege of another great Canadian pianist, Oscar Peterson. Here, Jones sits down with Peterson's daughter to discuss what jazz means to Canada and what Canada means to him.

Jones celebrated his retirement this year with a special sold-out trio performance at the Montreal Jazz festival. Jazz Night was there to bid him farewell.